SOUND CHECK: Richie Hawtin works to expand the definition of EDM WITH VIDEO

By GARY GRAFF

Friday, November 9, 2012

Richie Hawtin usually does his talking with his music. But these days Hawtin is doing some real speaking on behalf of electronic music.

With waves of new fans joining the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) movement, the Windsor- and Berlin-based artist, producer and record label owner is touring the country with CNTRL: Beyond EDM, which features lectures followed by performances by Hawtin and an assortment of colleagues -- including Loco Dice, Ean Golden and special guest DJs at each stop. Hawtin and company are focusing on college campuses, "trying to introduce new electronic music fans into the deeper world of electronic music" and make sure veterans of the form are not left behind fans who embrace newer artists.

"We really want to break open the definition of EDM in North America, which I think is quite narrow and more connected to electronically produced pop records than the music I've been recording for the last 20 years," explains Hawtin, 42. "They're hearing a lot of similar artists, a lot of DJs who are well-known who are playing very similar records, very similar styles.

"We're on a perfect cusp of this whole explosion of EDM, and the timing right now is perfect because a lot of the people who have been sucked into this new wave of EDM are starting to ask questions about what is beyond what they're hearing and what they're seeing at concerts."

But Hawtin, who will be working on new music after the CNTRL tour, is quick to note that CNTRL: Beyond EDM is not criticizing any of the popular electronic artists or what they're doing. "We're definitely not out here to go against any of those styles; we're just here to show another version of where and how electronic music came to sound," he explains.

"I wouldn't say we're telling the rest of the story; we're just telling another part of the story. The genre is so rich and wide and deep. We just want to crack that open a little bit and give the message that, 'Here's what we do. Here's how we sound' and hopefully some of the guys and girls in front of us will listen more and continue their own personal search and find their own direct, unique, passionate connection to electronic music."